Local Consolidation Instructions (NEW)

This article will guide you through the tasks and subtasks required of a Secretary or Assistant Secretary and the Parent Office during a Chapter/Lodge/Club Merger or Consolidation.

This article aims to provide directions and to expedite the resolution of any question or issue you are having during the setup and completion of a consolidation.

Covered in this Article:

1. What is a Consolidation?
2. Preparation in anticipation of a merger/consolidation.
3. Parent Office: Admin task of processing a merger.
4. Parent Office: Admin notify Groupable|m2/OLP
5. The post-merger Local setup process.
6. Updating your Local WePay Merchant Account

1. What is a Consolidation?

A Consolidation is when one or more locals demise into a Surviving Local Group, and this surviving local continues with the existing name and/or number. In the consolidation process, groupable|m2 inactivates the demising Local or Locals and incorporates any demising Local(s) into the Surviving Local. Historical records for the demising Local(s) will henceforth be read-only by the Parent Group or Local Officers of the surviving local.

Demising Local:

• One or more Lodge, Chapter, or Local groups ceasing to exist, and whose members will be accepted into the Surviving Local group.

At the time of the Consolidation, the following will occur for the Demising Local:

• Demising Local will be marked "merged inactive".
• All active offices held for the Demising Local will be terminated on the date of the Consolidation.
• All donations attributed to the Demising Local will be transferred to the surviving local.
• All members of the Demising Local will have a "consolidated out' event added to their history.
• All members of the Demising Local will be added to the surviving local with a "consolidated in" event.
• The annual census report for the Demising Local will be closed.
• All financial records for the Demising Local will be closed.
• Any untransferred funds of the Demising Local will be marked and transferred to their treasurer.
• The open budget period for the Demising Local will be closed.
• All members from the Demising Locals will be assigned a Member Type of "none" and Dues Owed of $0.00 in the Surviving Local.

Surviving Local:

• The one local that receives members in a consolidation and will remain active after the consolidation has been processed.

At the time of the Consolidation, the following will occur for the Surviving Local:

• Officers, Financials, Dues, Member Types, Online Payments, and all other records will remain intact.
• The newly incorporated members from the Demising Local(s) must be assigned a member type in this Surviving Local with dues rate and dues owed updated for their new affiliation.

What if I need to process a Merger (creating a brand new entity name)?

A Merger occurs when two or more local groups form a brand new entity, with a brand new name and/or number. A Merger results in a new local, with brand new officers, member types, financial setup, etc.

To process a Merger, 1) Create a New Local, and then 2) Consolidate the two or more Locals into the new (surviving) local that has just been created. 

For both Demising Locals, the following will occur at the time of the Consolidation:

• Demising Locals will be marked merged inactive.
• All active offices held for the Demising Local will be terminated.
• All donations attributed to the Demising Local will be transferred to the surviving local.
• All members of the Demising Local will have a "consolidated out' event added to their history.
• All members of the Demising Local will be added to the surviving local with a "consolidated in" event.
• The annual census report for the Demising Local will be closed.
• All financial records for the Demising Local will be closed.
• Any untransferred funds of the Demising Local will be marked and transferred to the treasurer.
• The open budget period for the Demising Local will be closed.
• All members from the Demising Locals will be assigned a Member Type of "none" and Dues Owed of $0.00 in the Surviving Local.

1. Preparation in anticipation of a merger/consolidation:

HARD STOP: Does either local currently have AutoPay enabled? Contact support@groupable.com for further information before moving forward with the consolidation/merger!

The following records must be up to date and/or obtained before the merger by the Local Secretary, Assistant Secretary, or a Parent Office Administrator working in collaboration with the Local Officer.

1. Membership of all affected Locals should be up to date.
2. Details of the New or Surviving Local should be gathered:
   1. Name, consolidation date, meeting address, Tax ID, Officers, etc.
3. Dues Payments and Dues Owed should be updated for all members before the consolidation is processed when groupable|m2 has been used for dues records.
4. When there are Life/Endowed/Perpetual Memberships, please review all life memberships after the consolidation with the Parent Group Administrator (Grand Lodge, Grand Chapter, etc.). These Life, Perpetual, and Endowed memberships will usually transfer automatically (except for your already-deceased Life or Perpetual Memberships, which must be checked by the Parent Body Admin).
5. Honorary members will transfer automatically.
6. Generate an Excel sheet with a list of all members from the Demising Local(s), including their Member Type, to accurately Assign Member Types and Initialize Dues after the consolidation has been processed (see screenshot for creating this report of members by Member Type):

5. At this point, when all records are up to date, the Secretary or Parent Office may wish to print Historical Budget Periods for the Demising Lodge/Chapter/Club. This will capture any existing financial records entered into m2. (This data will be retained on the Inactive Local and can always be viewed by the Secretary/Officers of the Surviving Local)

Access the Historical Budget Periods by clicking on Income/Expenses and looking in the lower right corner for Budget Periods.

If the Secretary needs assistance with these steps, they can contact their parent body, and Groupable will provide any additional support needed.

2. Admin task to execute a Consolidation:

Your Parent Office will perform the Consolidation in m2. This form is completed by an Admin and should not be submitted twice.

From the Info/Officers screen, scroll down to Consolidation History:

Click the Consolidation Button, which will bring you to the following screen. Be sure to review the Caution Panel!! This step is irreversible!

The actual merging of lodges is time-intensive and may take a moment to complete and load. WAIT ON THIS SCREEN until you receive confirmation.

Ensure that you are ready to process the consolidation, that you are consolidating the correct local, and that you are selecting the correct Surviving Local. This step is irreversible!

3. Parent Office: Notify Groupable: m2/OLP

After the merger has been completed, the Parent Office must notify Groupable (please create a ticket with Zendesk). Once notified, groupable will process an OLP Merger, which will go into effect no sooner than 24 hours later.

4. The post-merger Local setup process.

In collaboration with their Parent Office (if needed), the Secretary can log in to m2 and set Member Types and Dues Owed for the new members by going through the steps outlined in the Setting Up Dues Mid-Year (video embedded below).

The steps of setting up dues mid-year will require you to have on hand the following materials and information:

1. Your Dues Rates for each Member Type
2. Your Member Types reports from Step 1
3. Any Current Dues Owed (generally dues may be carried, but arrears may not be carried forward in a consolidation - your Parent Office will provide you the specific instructions and rules for your organization)

Now review these instructions: How to Start Using Dues Mid-Year

If instead, you are setting up dues for the first time, see:

And if you are setting up dues for a new year, see:

Please notify your Parent Group or use the Help Button in the lower right corner if you have any questions in this process!  ----->

6. Updating your Local WePay Merchant Account

When you have completed a Merger or Consolidation, it's essential to double-check that your WePay Merchant Account is ready to use. 

When your Surviving Local had an existing Merchant Account, this existing Merchant Account will remain in place.

If you log in to your OLP Dashboard > Groupable Payments and see "Signup with WePay". You'll be asked to log in, and then complete setup with re-entering the verification information. Be sure to verify the EIN and Legal Name exactly as it is filed with the IRS.

Groupable Payments: WePay Verification Requirements

Once you have completed the verification process, immediately process an online payment for dues or donations. This will ensure that WePay Trust & Safety promptly verifies your merchant account. 

If your Local WePay Merchant Account is still connected and Active, no action is necessary and your members can continue making online payments with no disruption.